An important business element in the production and distribution of television programming is revenue received from manufacturers and service providers who pay to advertise their products. The ubiquitous television commercial is the manifestation of this enterprise. The survival of a television program is heavily dependent on the advertising revenue that can be realized from the television program. Advertisers in turn rely on the ability of the television program to draw viewers who then become potential purchasers of the advertised products. An effective television commercial is one that captures the viewer's attention in a lasting manner and that ultimately results in the purchase of goods and/or services.
Television and Internet technologies are beginning to converge. In particular, access to the World Wide Web via an Internet-enabled television system (sometimes referred to as “interactive television” or “enhanced television”) is progressing and becoming more popular. Viewers can obtain information about goods and services that are advertised in television commercials by, for example, connecting to the Internet while viewing interactive television and ordering the advertised products.
Television commercials do not always effectively reach the viewer for various reasons. For example, many viewers take the opportunity during the commercial break to do things other than watch the television commercial, and as a result, the viewers may miss a television commercial that may be of interest to them. Sometimes, the broadcast time of a television commercial is insufficient to provide interested viewers with time to write down a telephone number or an address needed for purchasing the advertised product. Furthermore, even if some television commercials advertise a product that is of potential interest to viewers, the viewers' attention span, recollection of the product, and interest in the product may be reduced because of distraction from subsequent commercials, from the regular programming, or from other events that adversely affect the original sentiment that spurred the viewers' interest. In short, there is often a decrease in the probability that a viewer will initiate and complete a transaction originated by a commercial.
Accordingly, improvements are needed in the advertisement of products in commercials and in the conducting of transactions related to the advertised products.